DOUBLE KILLER PLANS APPEAL
Psychiatrist delay ‘affected his manslaughter plea’
THE war veteran jailed for murdering his neighbours in a parking row is set to appeal his life sentence.
The family of Collin Reeves are in talks with lawyers over a bid to cut his 38-year minimum term.
The move comes days after Afghanistan veteran Reeves was jailed for the killing of Jennifer Chapple, 33, and her husband Stephen, 36.
Last night Reeves’ mum Lynn, 68, said: “You can’t condone what Collin did.
“But we believe he was let down by the psychiatrists who assessed him for the court. His legal team were shocked by the length of the sentence.”
Reeves, 35, climbed a fence before entering his victims’ home in Norton Fitzwarren, Somerset, and stabbing them with a ceremonial dagger as their two sons slept upstairs.
Lynn and husband Brian, 68, told how their son broke down in tears days before when he heard the Last Post on TV on Remembrance Day. Brian said: “He said the bugle brought it all back.”
Bristol Crown Court heard that two psychiatrists concluded Reeves had no psychosis or acute PTSD. Lynn said: “That influenced the prosecution to refuse his manslaughter plea.”
She said her son’s lawyers had sought an opinion from forensic psychologist Karen Gough but, due to a mix-up, she saw him only a week before the trial.
She said: “By then he’d been in prison six months and had been on sertraline, which treats both PTSD and depression. Dr Gough diagnosed complex post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, avoidance issues and disassociation.”
Reeves was a lance corporal with 24 Commando Royal Engineers at Camp Bastion.
The CPS said: “Reeves sought to avoid responsibility for murder by claiming his actions were the result of PTSD. Two psychiatrists agreed that although Reeves suffered from depression this was not sufficient... to lead to diminished responsibility.”